Look around — spring is in the air. It’s everywhere — in shorts and flip-flops, in barbecues and blooming tulips.

With spring and the approaching summer comes the “get-noticed factor.” It’s all about tanning beds, car stereos and, unfortunately, loud mufflers.

I’m all for cleaning out the carbon on your Harley or the occasional rear-wheel muscle flexing of a mid-’60s Chevelle on Lincoln Way, but, for the love of God, let’s put the brakes on these rituals around campus.

The 0-to-100-mph-in-a-quarter-mile mentality on every block gets a little old. It’s not only the motorcycles, either. What’s up with all these tools who think strapping a turbo muffler onto a ’93 Grand Am makes it impressive? I’m happy you were able to find euro taillights for a Ford Tempo. God bless you. But seriously, it doesn’t make your car any faster or that much cooler. It only makes you a schmuck with silver taillights.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like every time I turn around, I’m subjected to some bad-ass wannabe red-lining his Toyota in second gear.

When you’re on a 1978 Kawasaki or in your recently “Pimp My Ride”-flavored backfiring family sedan, seeing how fast you can go from Student Health to the College of Design isn’t cool. Save it — no one cares. Putting polished horseshoes on a donkey doesn’t make it a thoroughbred.

Do us all a favor and just listen to some “Born To Be Wild” on your iPod.

Brad Tierney

Graduate Student

Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies